What did we learn from the win over Slovakia?
Apart from injuries to three strikers (more of that below) it was a fine performance at Wembley which gives the country great heart ahead of Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine. Fabio Capello had made it abundantly clear that in his eyes friendlies are almost as important as qualifiers and he showed that first with his team selection and then with the way he sent England out to attack from the start.
And it paid off handsomely with Emile Heskey scoring after seven minutes and then being so dominant that by the time they took their foot slightly off the accelerator Slovakia were in no condition to mount a counter offensive. And then for the rest of the game England played patient, progressive football and got their reward late in the game with three more goals.
It's hard to assess the state of England's defence after the victory seeing as they had very little to do, so we must look further up the field for positives. The way Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney linked up on the right and Frank Lampard's overall performance seems to suggest Capello's 4-1-4-1 formation is finally putting round pegs in round holes. England's overall dominance was also pleasing against a team who, at least on paper, should have provided some kind of test.
On a negative note, neither Stewart Downing or Aaron Lennon made much of a case for a regular start, meaning the sooner Theo Walcott and Joe Cole return the better.
Who will play up front against Ukraine on Wednesday?
It started off well with Emile Heskey scoring his first England goal in six years, but then it all went pear-shaped. First the Villa man went off with a hamstring injury, then his replacement Carlton Cole was forced from the field through injury and finally his replacement Peter Crouch also failed to last the distance after picking up what looked like a hip injury. Three strikers all off in one game, crazy.
Of the three you'd think Crouch will definitely recover for Wednesday but it could be touch and go for the other two and that could leave Capello with a tricky decision to make. There will be a clamour for Michael Owen to be called up but he would not be a like-for-like replacement and Capello seems to like his big man up front. Once all the knocks have been assessed you'd think Capello will do everything to keep the shape of his side in tact and then just tweak what he has on the bench hoping he won't have to change too much.
Can we all stop talking about David Beckham now?
The AC Milan midfielder duly took his place on the pitch at the start of the second half to become England's most capped outfield player and congratulations to him, he may not be the best England have ever had but every time he gets knocked down he keeps coming back for more.
But now this landmark has been passed can we all calm down a bit and just treat him as another squad member. The way he crossed for Wayne Rooney's goal and the way no one else is making a big statement for a regular start suggests he's going to keep getting picked and he deserves his place. But please no more big build-up and no more shots of his wife and kids in the stands!
Will England stroll to victory on Wednesday night?
One thing is for sure, Ukraine will provide much tougher opposition than Slovakia did. But before we write off the Slovaks as no-hopers, it's worth remembering they have a huge qualifier against neighbours the Czech Republic on Wednesday night so perhaps they weren't taking things too seriously at Wembley.
It's great news that England will go into the Ukraine game with such confidence and with a shape and a gameplan that everyone seems to have brought in to. But it's another game and must be treated as such, complacency must not be allowed to seep into the squad. Luckily with Capello at the help this is unlikely to happen.
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